Shine
by Tinge
Summary: Dekka x Sam, one of the few on the site. :D Rated T just in case. Set between plague and fear at Lake Tramonto. WARNING: Contains spoilers from Gone-Fear.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. This is my first story on this site, so i really hope you like it. :D Please rate, and be honest with it. Lol. I decided to write this story due to the overwhelming lack of Sam x Dekka/Sekka stories on this site, even though i know i'm definintely not the best author to do it. It's set post - plague, primarily at Lake Tramonto, although there may or may not be other locations such as Perdido Beach or the mine shaft featured here. It depends on whether or not I add more chapters [In other words whether or not i actually get any readers, lol.] Anyways, i'll quit talking now. xD Hope you like it. :D Note: This is the rewritten version, as of 5/10/12.**

**Dekka:**

She was floating through a never ending sea of darkness, with no clue as to where she was going. Dekka was lost. Hopelessly lost... She had confessed how she felt to Brianna, and now she wouldn't even talk to her. Now.. She was just sad. She had nothing left to be here for. Nothing to keep fighting for in this hell known only as the FAYZ...

Then, suddenly, while Dekka was lost in her rather melancholy thoughts, through the darkness there was a light... It seemed almost blinding, as it sliced through the vast world of darkness, just a single ray. She squinted slightly, shocked by the sudden flash, and almost involuntarily began drifting towards the light, loving how it illuminated this dark world.

She felt almost happy as she approached the light. Feeling oddly warm, she heard a rather familiar - sounding voice, though she couldn't quite place it, as it was partially muffled by the thickness of the darkness surrounding her. "Dekka? Dekka?"

Dekka woke with a start and sat up quickly in her bed, feeling a hand shake her shoulder just a couple times, very lightly, obviously not intending to surprise her as it had.

"Dekka? Dekka? Are you alright?" It was Sam. Was he the light she had heard? Dekka looked up at him, a slightly puzzled expression on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." She lied, not really wanting to go through a long talk about how Brianna would come around eventually. They did help most of the time, but well... she was still really, really tired.

"Nuh-uh. I can tell when you're lying Dekka." He sat down on the bed, a few feet away from her. "I couldn't sleep so i went out to the fields for a while. When i came back and passed your boat, i heard you going back and forth between screaming and muttering to yourself about the 'Darkness.'" Sam frowned and continued. "I came in to make sure you were okay, which you obviously aren't."

Sometimes she hated how well he knew her. But the real question racing through her mind was... in that last moment, before she was awoken, why had he been the voice..? The light ... it was Sam.

"Oh... sorry. It was just a bad dream. I hope i didn't wake anyone." She managed a sort of false smile, hoping it would pacify Sam enough to have him stop worrying about her.

"Well... alright, if you say so." He still looked worried. "If theres anything you wanna talk about, just ask alright?"

I couldnt help but wonder why he cared so much. No one really cared.

Sure, she had people who pretended they were her 'friends' and then all but abandoned her after they found out about her sexuality... but aside from that, she pretty much just had Sam.

She had always known Sam was a true friend, but this... was it more than that to him? Or was it just her imagination? She quickly dismissed it as crazy ideas which couldn't possibly be true. Every girl in the FAYZ fawned over him, and he still loved Astrid... it was impossible.

"Alright. Thanks, Sam."

"Any time." Sam stood up and walked away, presumably going back to his own 'White Houseboat'. She felt oddly sad as she watched him leave. She decided to just leave it 'till morning, and laid back in her bed, shutting her eyes, and once again entering that world of endless darkness within mere seconds.

**Sam:**

Confused. That was the only real world for how Sam felt right then. He had wandered off towards the zeke fields a little earlier into the night, not to pick any food or anything, just needing some time to himself. He'd done that a lot lately, ever since Astrid left. Astrid. He felt a sharp pain in his chest, like an ice-cold dagger had been buried into his flesh and pulled out almost instantaneously, leaving no noticeable wound.

Noticeable. Thats the key word. It may not be noticeable to others, but it was there. Always there. Not a physical wound, not life threatening... just heartbreak. He hadn't been the same since the FAYZ. Changed again after that first kiss with Astrid. Once again after the fight with Caine.

So many things... so many things in this hell known as the FAYZ had wounded him, cut him deep. Scars which would never be erased. Things he had done... which he could never undo. He suddenly found himself choking back tears, simply at all the memories. He waited just a few more minutes, until he had calmed himself down, and began to walk back to his houseboat. When he passed by Dekka's place, he happened to hear very small, sad sobs. Coming from inside.

Almost instantly realizing it was Dekka, Sam had walked in and talked to her for a while. Calmed her down, or at least he thought he did. When he left... he could see that she was still hurt, by something. Most likely brianna. He frowned a little at the thought, but continued on to his boat.

Sam stopped for a moment, realizing he had almost completely forgotten about Astrid while he was talking to Dekka. And even now, thinking of that sad topic yet again... he still felt almost happy. Or at least not depressed like he had been in the past few months. "Maybe I'll go talk to Dekka again tomorrow," I thought to myself, silently telling myself it was just to check on her.

But honestly, i wasn't sure if it was for that, or just because i needed to see her as much as she needed to see me.

**Dekka:**

Dekka woke up the next morning a bit groggy-headed, as she'd gotten very little sleep. (Obviously.) She stumbled out of bed and went to the houseboat's small kitchen, wearing a small pink pajama tee shirt matching her pink pajama pants.

Her hair was tied back into a ponytail (The days where i was able to keep it tied up in corn rows consistently were long gone.), and needed to be brushed before i went out to work with Edilio and the other children of Lake Tramonto.

"Wonder who i'll get paired up with today..." She muttered to herself. She honestly didnt care all that much, as long as she didn't get paired up with Computer Jack, or worse, the Breeze herself.

Just the thought of Brianna caused her to grow a little sad and let out a small sigh. "Oh well, nothing you can do about it now.." she said, still evidently talking to herself as she opened up a jar of Nutella and had some "breakfast", if you could call it that.

Nutella was a god send to the FAYZ, but eventually, even it began to grow a little tedious to eat every day. Feeling spoiled, she cracked open a can of Pepsi and drank it as well, putting her in a much better mood than before.

After her short breakfast, she slid on a pair of very tight jeans found in the boat's previous owner's closet, a tight black tanktop which matched very well, and some black boots, and slid out the door and onto the small walkway which led to the Zeke fields.

Just as dekka reached the nearest zeke field where Edilio stood nearby, she noticed two kids who couldn't be older then eight or nine pushing each other around near the edge of the Zeke field before even throwing one of the Blue Bats in; a disaster waiting to happen.

Only mere seconds after noticing the two children, the exact thing Dekka feared would happen did. The larger kid pushed the smaller one just a little too hard, and he stumbled backwards over a basket filled to the rim with cabbage. The boy fell back, only moments from crashing to the ground and being devoured by the zekes waiting below.

Reacting on sheer instinct, Dekka raised her palms up, lifting the child high into the air and above the ground below.

However, a side effect was that the dirt below - and the zekes which lived within it - rose up as well. Now the little boy who looked oddly familiar to Dekka was floating only a foot (give or take a couple inches) from the top of a massive pillar of dirt, filled with killer worms which could completely devour the poor boy in seconds if given the opportunity.

Almost as though they finally realized what was happening, the zekes began to crawl up through the pillar of dirt, snipping at the little boy, getting dangerously close to sinking their teeth in and ripping him apart.

Everyone's eyes were now glued on the boy and the pillar, no one knowing exactly what they should do. It would take little less than a miracle to save him now.

**Sam:**

Sam woke up suddenly, hearing the sound of glass breaking from the floor above his bed. He quickly threw on a pair of dark blue jeans and ran up to the next floor, seeing that it was just Edilio who had dropped a jar of Sam's Nutella.

Sam glared at him. "You woke me up."

"Sorry man, sorry," Edilio said quickly. "I just wanted a little somethin to eat... it slipped out of my hand."

Sam sighed. "Well, at least i'm up now..." He then yawned and slid on a plain black tee shirt, watching as Edilio quickly headed out the door, calling back to Sam and saying, "Sorry man, but i've gotta go. Kids are gonna start showin up in the fields any minute now."

Without even awaiting a response, Edilio practically sprinted out the door. "Weird..." Sam muttered. It really was unusual to see Edilio late like that. Sam waited a few more minutes, and decided he should probably head out to the fields as well. Besides, he might see Dekka there.

Sam found himself smiling at the thought.

As he turned the corner to the fields, Sam almost instantly noticed Dekka, with her palms raised to the sky. Realizing something was terribly wrong, Sam did a quick survey of the area, and saw the column of dirt with a small kid - Justin, if Sam was remembering right - with zekes writhing through the dirt and trying to bite the small boy.

Well, Dekka had saved his life for now, but it would be in vain if Sam didn't act soon. Sam quickly raised his hands in the air, palms facing out, as he stepped quickly to the side so he could safely avoid hitting Dekka, and fired.

**Dekka:**

Dekka was still holding up the pillar, had been for almost 30 seconds now, and the zekes seemed to be edging closer and closer to the small child. If something didn't happen soon, he would die.

Suddenly, two twin beams of brilliant green-white light flew by Dekka, a little ways to her left. She smiled a little, instantly realizing it was Sam, and even better, that the boy would be saved.

The white light incinerated the many writhing zekes within the pillar fairly quickly. The look on the boy's face was one of pure relief, and Dekka felt incredibly proud of herself. When the last of the zekes were gone, Dekka slowly, slowly lowered the pillar, until the boy was low enough to be grabbed fairly easily by Orc, who had stumbled out of the shadows to help out in the only way he really could. Dekka liked the new Orc a lot better than the drunken monster he had been before.

When the boy - Justin, she had heard another boy call him - was safely away from the field of zekes, Dekka went up to Sam.

"Well, someone has nice timing today." She smiled, something extremely rare, a genuine smile, and looked up at Sam.

**Sam:**

"Well, i do try." Sam said, smirking just a little, feeling just as happy to be here as she seemed to be.

Then, suddenly, Edilio, Orc, and Justin walked over to the pair. Tears were welling up in Justin's eyes, Edilio looked both happy and a bit shellshocked at the same time, and Orc looked as unreadable as ever beneath his gravel shell.

"Hey," Edilio said, and seemed as though he was about to say something else when Justin pushed him roughly aside, and abruptdly pulled both Sam and Dekka into a big hug, tears now streaming down his face. "Th-th-thank you..." he said to the two of them, still sobbing.

"Its alright, You're safe now." Sam hugged Justin back softly, and, without even thinking about it, ended up wrapping an arm around Dekka as well.

Realizing what he had done, Sam looked away slightly and blushed. Dekka just looked over at him and smiled. She didn't seem to mind.

**Dekka:**

After comforting Justin for a little while longer, and being given the rest of the day off by Edilio, Dekka walked away with Sam, still beaming with pride about her job well done. And maybe the fact that Sam had actually wrapped his arm around her contributed a bit, too.

"Ya know, you really were great out there," Sam said, looking over at her. "Justin would be dead now if not for you."

"Well i could say the same for you," Dekka said, almost smiling. "Anyways, lets drop the topic for now. We've got the day off, remember?"

"Yeah." Sam smiled and looked up, as though deep in thought.

As they passed by Dekka's houseboat, Dekka grabbed Sam's arm and pulled him in through the front door. "Lets just hang out in here for a while," she said, barely able to contain her laughter at Sam's shocked expression, and when she saw his blush, she actually did laugh just a little.

"A-alright.." Sam said, going in with her.

**Dekka:**

Dekka then sat down on her bed, and Sam quickly followed suit, sitting down next to her. They just sat there and talked for hours after that, until it was dark and working hours were well over anyways. Both were in incredibly good moods, when Sam turned to her and said, "Well, i guess i need to get going... see ya tomorrow?"

"Yes!" Dekka said excitedly, a bit more quickly than she'd intended.

"Alright. Night Dekka," Sam said, and hugged her a little closer than 'Just a friend' would, and certainly a lot longer. Not that Dekka minded it.

After their embrace, Sam turned to leave, and went back to his house.

Dekka then laid down in her bed, a wide smile on her face. It was then that she realized that she hadn't thought about Brianna once today. And even now, when those thoughts did surface, she wasn't quite so sad.

**Sam:**

Sam laid down in his bed, looking towards the bunk and noticing Astrid's nightgown which he had always kept by his side for comfort.

It was then that he realized, not once today had she crossed his mind. And even now, even the thoughts of her were not sad enough to bring him out of his good mood.

He then stored the nightgown away in a closet drawer for safekeeping, and laid back down, feeling just about the happiest he had ever since the coming of the FAYZ.

**Okay, reading that over, it was incredibly cheesy. xD But oh well, its my first story, i'll [hopefully] get better soon. lol. Please review, and be honest. ^^ I'll try to update as soon as i can. And hopefully, it'll be a little better next time. :3**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hihi :D I know, i know, i said i would wait for reviews to see if i would write another chapter to this. Well, none have come yet, but i wanted to update anyways. ^w^ Review please! I wanna see if anyone actually likes this. xD**

**Sam:**

Sam was walking around the lake shore, now on the far side, away from his boathouse. As he sat down on the lake's edge, His mind wandered through everything which had happened the day before. He had slept with Astrid's nightgown by his side every day since she had left... but last night, he had put it away. It was as though he didn't need that little piece of comfort anymore...

But why? What had changed?

Lost in thought, Sam didn't even notice the footsteps behind him until a rather familiar voice rang out from behind him.

"Hi, Sam," Dekka said.

Turning around, Sam saw who it was and said, "Oh, hey Dekka." He found himself smiling after seeing her, but couldn't quite figure out why. Dekka then sat down next to Sam. She was wearing a pink tee shirt and black jeans, with her long black hair tied back into a ponytail. Sam couldn't help but think of how beautiful she looked out here on the water's edge, the sun rising from behind her (at least from Sam's perspective).

Dekka smiled a little and looked over at him, then said, "You look a lot better today. Sleeping well?"

"Yeah," Sam said, in rememberance of how he had felt the night before, "Slept great last night. It's different."

"I'll say," Dekka said, as though she knew exactly what he meant. Sam couldn't help but think about how similar things had been for them lately. He was hurt by Astrid, Dekka by Brianna... the FAYZ had been a hell for both of them. The only small thing they've had to get through it is each other, and maybe a handful of other friends.

**Dekka:**

Dekka had been coming back from the woods after a long walk through the areas around Lake Tramonto when she'd seen him. Sam, sitting on the edge of the lake, looking like he was deep in thought. He was wearing a black polo shirt, and dark blue jeans. His long Golden-Brown hair was blowing around lightly in the breeze, which was unusual for the FAYZ. Wondering what he was doing out here so early, she went over to him and said hi, then sat down next to him.

"Oh, Hey Dekka," she couldn't help but notice the smile on his face, and smiled right back at him, a bit unusual for her. He seemed to be a lot happier today than he had been the day before, like there wasn't anything eating away at him. For the first time in a while, he didnt look like a stressed out leader who'd been pushed beyond his limits, but much more like a happy, stress-free teenage boy, something almost no one in the FAYZ could say anymore.

"You look a lot better today. Sleeping well?"

"Yeah, slept great last night. It's different."

"I'll say," Dekka said with a slight nod, recalling all the recent sleepless nights she'd spent fretting over Brianna. It was strange, she hadn't seemed to think of Brianna at all when she was around Sam unless the topic came up. And even now, thinking of her, she didn't feel as sad. It was amazing.

They just sat there in silence for a little while longer, until a furious-looking Edilio began to walk over to the two of them. "Shit..." Dekka muttered to herself, realizing what had happened. From the look on Sam's face, he had too.

"What the hell? I've got eight year olds working their asses off in the fields and you two decide to skip out and come talk on the lakeshore?" Edilio ranted, obviously not in a very nice mood. "First i had to break up a fight before another kid got thrown into the damn zeke field... then i had to go fetch a few kids who didn't show, assuming the two of you would handle the kids if need be because i thought you'd be there, then i find you two lounging around on the damn lake!" Edilio then sat down on the ground, running his hands through his dark black hair, which clung to his forehead just a bit from sweat, no doubt due to working in the fields.

Dekka was a bit taken back. She had never seen Edilio angry before, and honestly, she could barely stifle a giggle after he was done ranting. Sam actually did chuckle a little bit when he was done.

"Alright man, we'll get to the fields," Sam said.

"Hurry the hell up," Edilio sighed. He was obviously run down.

"Sorry Edilio, i wont forget again," Dekka said.

"Yeah. Just go."

**Sam:**

Sam, after being scolded by Edilio for forgetting his field work, still found himself smiling. Edilio rarely got angry, so that was shocking. But mostly it was just the fact that instead of working in the fields all morning, he'd gotten to take a couple hours off to talk with Dekka. That at least, he was happy about.

After Edilio was finally done yelling at him (which felt like it lasted forever to Sam), Sam and Dekka began to walk away from the edge of the lake.

"Damn, he was mad," Sam said, laughing a little.

"Yeah, seems like it. Guess we'd better get to the fields." Dekka said, barely able to stop herself from laughing, Sam noticed.

"Yeah, we're partners for today," Sam smiled brightly at the thought of that. He was enjoying spending time with Dekka more and more lately.

They walked to the fields from there, and started working. The work seemed less tedious to Sam, when they did it together. Afterwards, they ended up going to Dekka's house together again, exhausted after a long day of work.

**Dekka:**

Sam opened the door for Dekka, and she walked right in and sat down on the edge of her bed, exhausted from working in the fields. She heard the door shut and Sam walk into her room, asking, "Hey, want a glass of water?"

"Sure," Dekka said, both of them obviously tired out after the day's work, even if it had been cut short by a couple hours.

Sam walked into the small kitchen (if you could call the tiny space with a mini-fridge and a tiny walk in pantry a "kitchen") and fetched them both a glass of water from the tap. When he returned, Dekka took the glass of water and drank a few sips, Sam doing exactly the same.

When they finished a few minutes later, Sam yawned and laid his head back on the bed, looking up at Dekka sitting next to him. It was late, and they were both tired, Dekka thought. May as well let him sleep here.

She laid back in the bed next to him, smiling over at him, feeling extremely happy to be this close to him.

They just laid there for a while, not saying anything, just enjoying being with each other and thinking of all the things that had happened to them in the past couple days, until Sam slowly reached over and wrapped his arms around Dekka, pulling her closer to him.

Dekka rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat as she snuggled in a bit closer to him. She had never felt this way about a boy before, or anyone before for that matter, but she liked it. She felt safe in Sam's arms, like nothing could hurt her.

They just laid like that for a while, just holding each other, before Sam said something that broke the silence.

"I love you, Dekka."

Feeling happier than she ever had, Dekka responded, "I love you too, Sam," and she meant it. More than she had ever meant anything else in her life.

Dekka and Sam just held each other the rest of the night, eventually falling asleep in each other's arms, like they had both wanted to do for quite some time now.

**A lot shorter, but i think i did pretty good. Don't worry, the story has a plot, just not quite there yet. xD Haven't gotten many reviews yet, but oh well. ^w^ I just had to write the second chapter. I hope i'm starting to get better, and i really Hope you liked it. :D Review! Makes me happy to read 'em. :3**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey :D Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it really made my day to read 'em all. ^^ However, im sad to say, i might not be updating as quickly as normal for a few days. Finals week is coming up, and i really need to get focused on that for a few days. Thanks for understanding, and i promise, i'll update as often as i possibly can.**

**Sam:**

Sam woke the next morning feeling happy, refreshed, and better than he had in a long, long time. Dekka laid there in his arms, sleeping peacefully... he was rested, he was free of stress, and he just felt happy all around.

He looked down at Dekka, listening to the soft sounds of her breathing as she slept. She looked absolutely beautiful, snuggling up to him. He had told her he loved her, and he did. More than anything else in the world. Even better, she had said she loved him too. Sam smiled at the thought. Maybe the FAYZ would finally let him have this one good thing in his life. Maybe he finally had a shot at real happiness.

Just then, he saw Dekka smile in her sleep, so much better than hearing her screaming and muttering to herself just a couple days before. They were both happier with each other, not just Sam.

**Edilio:**

Edilio woke with a yawn, sitting up slowly in his bed. His dark black hair was badly ruffled after his usual five hours of sleep, which would have been considered very little to Edilio before the FAYZ, but now it was a miracle to even get that much with how much he had to work. He was practically the Lake's gravedigger, sheriff, employer, all around peacekeeper, and since Sam was all but out of commision lately; Leader.

He needed a break. Maybe he would just head over to Clifftop after work. Ever since Lana had shot him in the chest, things had been understandably awkward between them. Edilio knew she hadn't wanted to, the Gaiaphage had made her, but it still left him shook up. He needed to talk to her about it eventually, right?

After eating his usual 'breakfast' of half a jar of Nutella, a small piece of fried fish caught by Quinn and his fishing crew, and a glass of water, Edilio headed downstairs to wake Sam up for another day of work in the fields.

When he reached Sam's room, Edilio found no one there. He figured Sam had just woken up and headed into the fields early. Or maybe was just trying to skip out again. Edilio was still fuming over that. Edilio decided to check the fields after waking the other kids, and if Sam wasn't there he would go check the lakeshore.

After waking three more incredibly grumpy kids assigned to work in the fields today, Edilio made his way to Dekka's house. Yesterday was rather odd, Dekka had never skipped out on work before. Hell she was usually one of the first ones there. Edilio seriously doubted he would have any trouble getting her up, and was willing to bet she'd be up already anyways.

As he reached Dekka's house, Edilio slowly opened the door, and walked into Dekka's bedroom.

When he reached the bed, Edilio's jaw almost literally dropped. Sam was laying there shirtless, with a sleeping Dekka snuggling up to him. Sam looked a bit startled by Edilio's entrance, and just waved Edilio off, mouthing, "I'll be in the fields when she wakes up," then motioning to the door, willing Edilio to leave.

Edilio just nodded and turned away, wondering what the hell Sam was doing. When he was walking towards the fields, Edilio tried to make sense of what he had just seen. Sam and Dekka had always been close, he knew that. He just didn't think they were close in that sorta way. Either way, it might be good for both of them. Sam needed to take his mind off Astrid, the whole thing had him torn up beyond belief. Edilio shook his head, dismissing the thoughts distracting him from doing his job. He'd ask Sam about it later. For now, he just needed to get to work.

** Dekka:**

Dekka opened her eyes slowly, a smile forming on her face as she felt Sam's arms around her. Sam Temple had told her he loved her. And she felt the same. It was unbelievable, and it had all happened in just a couple days...

She had never felt so happy before, even before the FAYZ. She looked up at Sam, who was looking right back down at her, a small smile playing on the edges of his lips. Dekka returned the smile, and without saying a single word, slid up in the bed so that she was face to face with Sam.

For just a few moments, Dekka and Sam just looked into each other's eyes, their faces only inches apart. For the first time in the many months that Dekka had known Sam, his blue eyes finally looked clear of all the worry and pain the FAYZ had given them. He looked... happy, like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Dekka couldn't help but smile knowing that she had been able to do that for him.

Then, after just a few seconds of laying there together, Sam leaned in slowly, and kissed Dekka.

The kiss wasn't hard or deep, or anything like that... it was just gentle, loving. Dekka kissed him back just as softly, loving how his arms felt around her waist, feeling closer to him than anyone else she'd ever been with.

After a few seconds, Sam pulled back just a little bit, breaking the kiss.

**Sam:**

Dekka looked at him questioningly for a moment, obviously wondering why he'd broken the kiss, before Sam said, "Edilio came in here looking for you earlier... it's at least three hours past time for us to be in the fields. He decided to give us a little time, but i dont think we want to leave him waiting too much longer after yesterday."

"Shit... you're right." Dekka got up out of bed and walked quickly to her room, from which she emerged a few minutes later wearing a black tank top which clung tightly to her skin, and a pair of black skinny jeans, along with a pair of black boots. She had left her long black hair down today instead of tying it up. In her hands she held a black and white striped polo shirt and a pair of black and white Adidas shoes in what looked like Sam's size.

Dekka walked over and handed him the shirt and shoes, which he quickly put on. Sam sighed quietly to himself, he had been tempted to just not remind Dekka of their work in the fields and give Edilio's visit no notice, but Edilio had always helped him out when he needed it in the past, and Sam couldn't just blow off his best friend two days in a row.

As Sam and Dekka began to step out of the house together, Sam felt her hand reaching for his, and laced his fingers together with her's as they walked towards the fields, both of them wearing the same happy smile on their faces, despite the fact that they now faced nearly seven hours of hard work in the fields.

**Edilio:**

Edilio had taken extra special measures to make sure he got a chance to talk with Sam today. He had made up some excuse about having too few kids at work in the fields today due to a couple of the scheduled kids being sick (which really wasn't true), so that he would have an excuse to be working himself instead of just managing the labour. Honestly, Edilio felt relieved because of that.

As a result, Edilio was able to schedule Sam to work with him today instead of his previously scheduled partner; a nine year old named Tyler.

When Edilio caught a glimpse of Sam and Dekka walking towards the fields a few minutes later, he jogged over to them, noticing rather quickly that they were holding hands. Yep, he needed to talk to Sam.

"Hey, Sam, you're working with me today. Dekka, you're with John."

"Alright," Sam and Dekka said almost simultaneously, Dekka's voice containing a hint of disappointment, Sam's more curious as to why Edilio was actually working than anything else.

After a few minutes of working in the fields in silence with Sam, Edilio spoke up at last, "So... what's going on with you and Dekka?"

Sam looked a bit caught off-guard by the question. "Well.. uh, i dunno... i was there last night after the work in the fields and i was tired, so she just let me stay there, and then we just ended up like you saw us when you came in there this morning, i guess."

Edilio was obviously skeptical. "So, you with her or not?"

Sam seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Yeah... i guess i am." Sam smiled lightly as he said it.

**Astrid:**

Astrid walked through the hills which led to Lake Tramonto slowly, carefully, so that she would attract as little attention as possible from the coyotes and other dangerous predators out in this relative wilderness, including her most feared predator of all; Drake Merwin.

At first she had tried to convince herself that she was only going to the lake to catch up with her old friends, so that she wouldn't have to be all alone in these woods anymore. The acts of violence, or murder if you prefer, which she had commited were unbearable. She deserved to die out here in these woods, alone.

But... despite the fact that she knew she deserved it, she couldn't bring herself to carry out her sentence of solitude. She was not coming here just for the company of all her old friends... she was coming back for Sam.

**Sorry this chapter took so long, i had some things come up. I'll try to be quicker from now on. Also, i must apologize, i really think this is my worst chapter so far. I'll try and make it up to you all by updating the next one a bit more quickly.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey. ^^ Trying to make up for the horrible last chapter by updating especially quick. x.x Hopefully this one won't be quite as horrible as the last one, lol. Review please! :D **

**Sam:**

Sam reached up and wiped a small bit of sweat from his brow, pretty exhausted after a day of field work. He'd had to break up a fight earlier because one kid got accused of stealing some of the cabbage they picked, and the other kid was hungry and apparently got pretty peeved over it... He could understand why Edilio was always so frustrated over this. Not all of the kids had grown up and came to fend for themselves when the FAYZ came, some still needed to be watched. They were still just kids, albeit rather deprived ones.

He could almost feel the anticipation from all the other kids almost as though it were tangible in the air. It was Friday night, and a couple weeks ago Sam, Edilio, and Dekka had arranged a time alloted for entertainment in the FAYZ every Friday night. There was only about fifteen minutes or so until it was scheduled to begin. It was nice, giving the kids something to look forward to. Sam wondered what it was Edilio had scheduled this week. Last week it was a ventriliquist act (the ten year old's father was a professional ventriliquist, and the kid was surprisingly good), the week before a reenactment of a scene from some movie... Sam hadn't been there.

"Well, not much time left to find out..." Sam muttered to himself.

"Huh?" Edilio looked towards Sam, wondering what he was talking about.

"Oh, was just wondering what you had scheduled for tonight." Edilio grinned.

"A few kids apparently found some instruments and got pretty good at playing 'em, they'll be playin a little show for us. They aren't electrical instruments or anything, but it should still be pretty good."

"Nice, i'll bet everyones gonna love that."

"Yup. Now anyways..." Edilio said, raising his voice to where it was practically a yell, so everyone working could hear, "Alright everyone, the shows starting soon. Everyone head to the marina!"

There were a few wild cheers from the workers, as they all collectively poured towards the marina to see the show.

**Dekka:**

Dekka grinned when she heard the wild cheers from all the kids around her. It still made her happy, to hear them actually excited about something, rather than just working day to day to get by.

After the majority of the kids, including her work partner; John Terrafino, had fled down the small path to the marina, Dekka walked over to where Sam and Edilio were still standing.

"Hey guys," She said, giving Sam a small smile.

"Hey Dekka," Sam said, returning the smile and wrapping his arm around her waist. Dekka shivered slightly at his touch.

"Hey, Dekka," Edilio said, standing around awkwardly like he didn't know what to say. "You two wanna head to the show?"

"Sure," Sam said, laughing a little at Edilio's obvious discomfort. Dekka figured he'd get used to it eventually. The three of them walked off to the marina in relative silence, just occasional small talk. When they arrived, Edilio quickly rushed into the 'White houseboat', as many kids had taken to calling it to help with setup for the show, while Sam and Dekka laid down together in the grass behind most of the other kids.

Dekka slid a little closer to Sam, laying her head down on his chest while saying, "Things are finally starting to look up for us, huh..?"

"Yeah," Sam agreed, smiling lightly, "We've finally got something worth enjoying. Not just... survival, and fighting with Caine and Drake. We've got one thing which makes up for everything else we've had to go through."

Dekka nodded, not saying anything more. She could hear the kids out in front of Sam and Dekka whispering amongst themselves, no doubt about Sam and Dekka. Aside from the Friday night assembilies, gossip was just about all the kids had entertainment wise. She chose to just ignore it.

**Sam:**

Later that night, after the assembly was over, Sam and Dekka had walked off together to Sam's houseboat, the very same 'White houseboat' which was used for the Assembly.

"If you want, you can stay here for the night?" Sam said, trying to sound nonchalant about it but really hoping on the inside that she would say yes.

"Of course," She said back, smiling sweetly. Then, Sam took her by the hand and led her into his bedroom. There, they crawled into bed with each other, Dekka wrapping her arms around him, Sam sliding his hands around her waist and pulling her a little closer.

Then, Dekka suddenly leaned in, kissing him softly. Sam kissed her back just as gently, lovingly, wanting to be with her more than he wanted anything else in the world.

Dekka pulled away from the kiss after a few more seconds, before saying so quietly it almost sounded like a whisper to Sam, "I love you, Sam."

"I love you too, Dekka."

And then the two of them fell asleep in each other's arms, each dreaming about each other in their slumber.

**Edilio:**

Edilio was unbelievably exhausted after a long day in the fields, followed by working to help get the show set up. But, the smiling faces of all those kids made the extra bit of work more than worth it to him. They all needed that little bit of relaxation every now and again.

He was walking towards the home he shared with Sam, and maybe pretty soon; Dekka, when he heard a voice from behind him. He'd been so lost in thought, he hadn't even heard the person approaching. Instinctively, Edilio spun around 180 degrees, almost instantly producing a small pistol from the belt on his waist, clicking the safety off, and lining up the sights in the direction the sound had come from in less than a couple seconds. Paranoia had really taught Edilio a few lessons about self protection.

As soon as he saw the figure, he lowered the gun, his mouth agape in utter shock. Before him, stood a pale white skinned, frail girl, with bright blonde hair cut much shorter than it had been the last time he'd seen her. She was wearing tight blue jeans which had been ripped in many places and her signature white blouse which Edilio had come to know well. Her face was smudged with dirt and grime, unusual for her.

"A-Astrid..?" Edilio asked, still in shock, and wondering what this meant for the town, and more importantly, Sam.

"Hi, Edilio. I didn't mean to startle you." Even now, she looked beautiful to Edilio. He'd always thought so, though he'd never dream of telling Sam that.

"Sorry about the gun... just reflexes. I'm sure you understand." He clicked the gun's safety back on and reholstered it to his tan leather belt.

Astrid motioned to the Sawed off shotgun she held on her back, "Oh yeah, i understand a lot better than you'd know. Anyways, wheres Sam..?"

Edilio let that last question hang in the air for a moment before answering, "He's uh... asleep."

"I can tell when you're lying to me Edilio." She looked especially irritated.

"He really is, Astrid. You should probably get some rest before seeing him again anyways, dont'cha think?" Edilio was desperately trying to find a way for her to not see Sam and Dekka together, at least not yet.

"Ugh... fine. Where will i be sleeping?" Edilio motioned to a rather small houseboat a few dozen meters away. Before leaving, Astrid made sure to add, "I'm going to find out what it is eventually Edilio... so whatever you're hiding, you should probably just come clean with it."

Edilio said nothing, so she walked away. When she was gone, Edilio muttered to himself, "When did she become such a _puta_ anyways..."

**Astrid:**

"Jeez... he bugs me sometimes. What is it he could be hiding..." she said to herself, resting on a small white bed in the houseboat she'd been assigned. Edilio was obviously trying to keep her from seeing Sam... or was it just entering his house? Maybe just stalling? She couldn't fathom what was going through his head.

"Oh well... I'm sure whatever it is will come to light eventually," she said, evidently having become accustomed to talking to herself out in the woods. She had taken off her torn and tattered clothing which she had been wearing in the woods and had slid on some of the previous owner's clothes. What she wore consisted of little more than a loose fitting white shirt which was a couple sizes too big and light blue jeans, also too big.

After contemplating things for a little longer, Astrid decided she was tired and drifted off into sleep, dreaming about all the possibilities of the day ahead.

**Thanks for reading. ^^ I'll try to update soon. Please review. :3 Makes meh happy. xD**


	5. Chapter 5

**Okay.. i really am sorry, i know these last couple chapters were pretty bad. I'm trying to get better, so please, have a little patience with me. ^^" I'll try to improve and become a good writer as soon as possible. Anyways, onto the story. Review! :3**

**Dekka:**

Dekka opened her eyes wearily, still heavy with sleep. It was obviously in the middle of the night, yet someone apparently thought there was something urgent enough to wake her and Sam for, judging by the sound of extremely hasty footsteps nearly running down the metal steps on the way to their bedroom.

_'This better be damn good...'_ Dekka thought to herself. Looking to her right, she could see that Sam was awake as well, and obviously just as confused as she was.

Then, as expected, Edilio came running down the stairs. At first, Sam looked rather irritated at having his sleep interrupted when he said, "What the hell is it now Edilio?" through slightly gritted teeth.

Edilio paused as he saw both of them sitting up in bed. "Oh.. sorry if i uh... interrupted anything, it's a bit important.." Dekka tried hard to stifle a laugh when she saw Sam blush at the mention of 'interrupting things'.

"No," Sam snapped at him, "We were just resting."

"Uh-huh," Edilio said, obviously not believing him but not caring either way. "Anyways, the thing is... uh.."

"Spit it out," Dekka said, with a bit more angst than she'd intended.

"Well... Astrids back."

**Sam:**

Wait... what? Sam's eyes widened when he'd heard Edilio. He could feel Dekka's eyes on him, wondering what he was going to do. "Are.. you serious? If this is some kinda joke Edilio i swear i'm gonna kick your ass..."

"I'm serious... shes staying in the vacant houseboat a little ways down the marina, on the right. I uh.. made sure she didn't come in here tonight, justt in case you two were uh... yeah."

Sam ran his hands through his golden-brown hair, unsure of what to do. What could he do? Astrid was back... He'd finally convinced himself it wouldn't happen. He'd finally come to terms with the fact that he'd never have to see her again. He glanced at Dekka. He'd already moved on...

A million thoughts raced through his mind, a million scenarios, a million outcomes, all ending up with someone being hurt. Finally, after just standing there for a few minutes thinking, he waved Edilio away, "Go home. Get some sleep. I'm tired."

Edilio turned away and left without another word.

**Dekka:**

Dekka watched as Sam crawled back into bed. She couldn't even imagine what must be going through his head right now.. All those sleepless nights, the restlessness, the sadness which seemed to eat at Sam up until recently was back... and even worse. She could see it in his usually dull blue eyes.

She crawled back into the bed with him, snuggling up to his chest without another word. She felt Sam wrap his arms around her, clinging to her unusually tightly. He was so upset.. then, suddenly, she felt a few small streaks of water stream down Sam's chest. He was crying. Sam Temple... the invincible leader of the kids of the FAYZ, was crying. No one had ever seen him like this before. Ever.

Dekka just held him closer, trying to comfort him in whatever little way she could. There was nothing she could do to help him now, she just had to wait, and see what he would decide to do...

**Sam:**

Despite the fact that he'd said he was tired as an excuse to get Edilio to go to sleep, Sam hadn't slept a wink since recieving the news. Dekka still laid there in his arms, sleeping peacefully.

He loved Dekka... and at one point he had loved Astrid. But... she had run off without even telling him. And even in the last few months before then, all they had done was fight... was it really even worthy of being called love? If so, it was one-sided as hell.

Letting out a soft sigh, Sam continued thinking to himself. He couldn't leave Dekka... he knew that. They were... more or less perfect for each other. The only question was how to deal with Astrid... despite all that had happened, he didn't want to hurt her.

He just... couldn't think of anything. He'd just have to tell her... He frowned at the thought of that. He'd talk with Dekka about it when she woke up, to see what she thought of it.

**Edilio:**

Edilio had been walking down the edge of the lakeshore when he spotted Astrid heading towards Sam's houseboat. Quickly rushing over to her and stopping her from going in, Edilio gave her a little smile and said, "Hey, Astrid... Sams gonna be out of town for a while... he'll be back soon."

Lamest excuse ever.

Astrid just rolled her eyes and tried to push past him. "Edilio, i want to see Sam. Please, just let me go to visit him? And if you're really telling the truth and he wasn't there, then surely it wouldn't hurt if i just looked, right?"

"Er... fine, he's there..." Edilio stumbled to think of an excuse, but came up with nothing.

"So what are you hiding, Edilio?"

Edilio felt an overwhelming urge to slap the hell out of her, then immediately felt guilty for even thinking it. Geez, the FAYZ was even messing up Edilio's morals now. Or maybe it was just Astrid's voice that always made her sound like she thought she was superior to him. Which, he supposed, he should just expect of her by now.

"I'm not hiding anything. He's uh... busy with work."

"Edilio, its the FAYZ. Theres no longer any work which is done inside except planning for battle. So, either your starting a war with Caine, which i know for a fact Sam wouldn't allow, or you're hiding something pretty big which makes you want to keep me out of that house."

Edilio just decided to tell the truth. Albeit, not the whole truth, but a part of it. "Look, Astrid, he knows you're back in town. He was a bit caught off guard. I'm just trying to give him a little time to himself before he confronts you, alright?"

Astrid seemed to contemplate that for a moment before speaking. "Alright i guess... But i still feel like you're hiding something." She then turned to leave, obviously irritated with Edilio.

Edilio turned to the zeke fields and began to walk down the marina to his usual workpost, still seething over the conversation with Astrid.

**Dekka:**

Dekka woke up from a very light, very restless sleep, having only slept for an hour at the very most. She looked up at Sam, who seemed nervous, deep in thought, and just worn out in general. It was pretty obvious that he hadn't slept.

It was just then that Sam noticed Dekka stirring. He'd apparently been as lost in thought as he appeared. "Morning..." He sighed.

"Sam..." She looked up into his deep blue eyes, now fraught with worry, "No matter what you decide to do, i'll still be here for you, always. I love you, Sam." Her voice cracked as she said she loved him, obviously on the verge of very rare tears.

Sam just clung to her tighter. "I love you too, Dekka. And.. theres nothing to decide." He looked down, "I'm not leaving you for her.. me and Astrid are through..." He sounded like he was about to break. "I just don't know how i'm gonna be able to tell her that..."

"Well if you want... i could always-" Sam cut her off before she continued.

"No Dekka, i won't let you be the one to tell her... it's something i have to deal with eventually. I can't just keep having Edilio stall her for me."

Even after all that had happened in the past few days, she sometimes still became annoyed with how well he knew her.

"Alright.." She held him tighter, and he held her just as tightly, both of them needing each other right now more than ever.

**Sam:**

Later that day, after Dekka had left to work in the fields (Edilio had just given Sam the day off, and for that at least, he was thankful. He'd need to repay Edilio for all he'd done for them recently, somehow.), Sam was just sitting in his bed, thinking to himself. A million different feelings ran through his head, a million different thoughts and solutions, but all with the same outcome.

It was unavoidable...

Sam almost didn't hear the rather light footsteps coming down the metal steps. They approached slowly, as though they were nervous about entering Sam's room. It wasn't Edilio or Dekka then, the two of them would just come right down.

Emerging from the dim, eerie light cast by a glowing Sammy Sun at the top of the staircase, came a pretty girl with bleach blonde hair cut much shorter than it had been when he'd last seen her. She was wearing a white blouse, one which Sam remembered well, and light blue, rather faded blue jeans which were mildly stiff from being washed in the saltwater of the ocean.

For just a second, Sam thought he literrally felt his heart stop. Then she spoke.

"Hi, Sam." Astrid said, looking nervously at Sam.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey everyone. :D Here's chapter 6! Hope ya like it. ^w^ Please review!**

**Sam:**

Astrid.. she was really here. Actually here... not dead, eaten by coyotes or whipped by Drake... she was alive. And.. right here in front of him. Sam could hardly speak.

Suddenly, Astrid took a step closer to him. "Sam..? Are you okay..?"

"Yeah... i'm fine..." He lied.

Then Astrid stepped forward again, and wrapped her arms around Sam, clinging to him. She buried her face into his chest. "I'm so sorry... for leaving. I just needed some time to think..."

"Think? What the hell was it you needed to think about that was so damn important that you couldn't even tell me?" Sam pushed her away, gently enough so that it wouldn't be seen as him wanting to hurt her, but firm enough so that she would know he didn't exactly want her that close right now.

"I waited for months Astrid. I didn't know if you were alive or dead. Hell, after months, i almost expected you were dead. You couldn't even think for one moment, that maybe i'd like it if you _told_ me you were leaving instead of just disappearing? Yeah, i get it Astrid, you sacrificed Little Pete, thinking the wall would come down. I get that you felt responsible for that. Believe me, i do. But maybe, just maybe, instead of vanishing into thin air and leaving me wondering if you'd been eaten by coyotes, whipped by Drake, or smashed over the head with a rock by Caine, you could've told me. You could've let me help you. Instead you left me so depressed i hardly got two hours of sleep every night and Edilio had to do all my work. Now, you show up and expect everything to just be exactly how it was? Not that thats much better anyways."

When Sam saw her face, he immediately regretted his little outburst.

**Astrid:**

Astrid was in shock. She'd never seen Sam like this. First he pushed her, and now he was yelling at her for leaving... they'd had fights, but this was different. Way different. This... this wasn't even Sam. She felt herself crying long - suppressed tears, and saw Sam's look of guilt when he saw them. He had stated it. She had left, she had ruined everything. And she had killed Little Pete. Innocent, unaware Little Pete...

He was right. She knew he was. But he had been right in the past, but he'd never yelled at her, not like this... this was just cruel.

"I.. I'm so sorry, Sam..." She could feel her voice tremble as she spoke. She had never actually apologized to him before, for anything. She was afraid of ever admitting she was wrong. She was, after all, Astrid the _'Genius'_, thought anyone who would actually call her that at the moment was obviously insane. Then something he had said finally registered.

_'Now, you show up and expect everything to be exactly how it was? Not that thats much better anyways.' _What exactly was he implying? Obviously, the second part meant that their relationship hadn't been good before either, which even though she knew it hadn't, still stung like hell to hear. But that first part... surely he just meant they had some things to talk about? Unless...

Then it all clicked. Edilio not letting her in here. Kids staring at her in shock. All the whispers they thought she couldn't hear. 'What about Sam?', 'Whats Sam gonna do now?', then Sam implying something had changed...

This time, it was Sam who hugged her. Not like her's, his was a friendly hug. Which only reinforced her ideas more...

She pulled away, and looked up at him, her eyes still red and puffy from the tears, contradicting the now steely, cold look on her face.

"You found someone else didn't you?"

A slight pause. Then, "Yeah..." Astrid felt like someone had just driven a knife through her heart. He claimed he loved her before... and she had accepted that she had messed things up between them. But... he couldn't even have waited for her to figure herself out?

**Sam:**

"You son of a bitch..." Sam was completely stunned at her foul language. Astrid really had changed in those woods... He was even more stunned by the cold, hard, slap across his face, followed by, "You couldn't even wait for me? Couldn't stop to think, _'Oh, maybe she just needs a little time,'_? You just ran off and found someone else. He saw a second slap coming, and instinctively grabbed her wrist before it connected. Then, he let her go.

"You think i didn't think all of that, and more Astrid? I waited for three fucking months!" He was yelling now, "i thought you were dead! I thought you were dead..." He repeated a second time, much more quietly.

Sam could see a hint of tears welling up in her eyes again. "So... who was it, Sam? Who did you end up with? I swear to God, and thats serious with me, if it's Taylor i'm going to kill her."

Sam's eye twitched slightly at the mention of Taylor. She didn't think he was _that_ desperate did she? Then, extremely quietly, to where he wasn't even sure she could hear, "Dekka..."

Astrid went quiet for a few moments. "Well... i guess that explains the glare i got when i saw her passing me by to the fields." She looked both irritated and broken at the same time. "I always knew you two were close... never thought it'd end up like this." Now, the tears did fall. She turned and walked out of the house without another word. Sam followed.

**Dekka:**

Dekka was still fuming as she began making the return trip from the fields. She had seen Astrid on the way to the fields this morning, but had elected not to talk to her. She had seen her heading to Sam's house, and she figured it would be best for Sam to talk to her about it.

Still, it was hard to resist the overwhelming urge to drop her from about 200 feet in the air.

When she arrived at the house, Dekka could hear Sam and Astrid yelling at each other from all the way down in the basement. Even though she knew it was wrong, she couldn't help but feel rather happy about that. Maybe things would actually go right for once. She sat down next to the doorway to the 'White houseboat' just a little while longer, waiting for something to happen, until Astrid stormed out of the house, her pale cheeks tear-stained. She looked like a wreck, Dekka almost felt bad for her. Almost.

Astrid gave Dekka a cold glare and a rather obscene hand gesture which involved the raising of a certain middle finger, which Dekka returned easily. Then, she saw Sam rush out of the house like Astrid had. Shit. Dekka followed a bit hesitantly, not sure whether or not she wanted to see what happened next. Astrid walked all the way to the other lakeshore of Lake Tramonto, where Dekka and Sam had been skipping out on their work just a few days ago. Then, she turned to face the two of them.

**Astrid:**

Astrid could hardly believe what had happened today, or what she was about to do. She had never expected her return to go quite like this...

But what had happened had happened, she couldn't change that. And if Sam couldn't get over that, well that was his mistake. She turned to face Sam and Dekka, now with a cold, steely glare on her face. She looked first to Dekka.

"You... you're pretty lucky, ya know that? If it hadn't been for my mistakes... you probably wouldn't be the one he was with right now."

Then to Sam. "You. I never even want to see you again." Her voice broke and she was on the verge of tears as she was saying it. Then, without another word, she turned and headed to Perdido Beach.

**Toto:**

Toto was disgusted. Two lies in a row? Unbelievable. Liars.

He shook his head, and looked up to where he saw a figment of his insanely tortured imagination, a floating Spider-Man head. He then looked to the two people who had been lied to. Sam... and Dekka, if he remembered right. They'd been the ones who'd killed Spidey and turned him into this ghost. For that he still resented them. But, being the truthteller he was, he had to destroy the lies told by the blonde girl.

He saw Sam and Dekka hug each other so tightly it looked like it might actually hurt, then he slid up next to them and said, "Those were lies."

Sam and Dekka both jumped in sheer surprise, and within a second Sam's palms were facing outwards towards Toto. When he saw who it was, Sam lowered his palms and shook his head. "Damn it Toto... Don't sneak up on people like that." His eyes were as red and puffy as the blonde liar's. "And by the way, sometimes, its better to leave a lie unexposed..." He looked down, obviously even further upset by Toto's revelation. "Alright..." Toto said, and turned around without another word. He then headed back to his cabin, leaving the two to comfort each other for whatever reason, talking to his Spidey-Head the whole way there.

**Sorry Sastrid lovers! I really, really hate that pairing, and this is a Sekka fic... so yeah. o.o  
P.S., aside from Dekka and maybe Sam, Toto is my favorite character. xD**


	7. Chapter 7 Notice

**Okay everyone, i'm posting this notice up to basically say that chapter one, and only chapter one, will be rewritten. The sequence of events will not change, and it will not effect the story what so ever, but i realized that chapter one was horribly written. (I kept switching back and forth between 1st and 3rd person, it was incredibly cheesy, and was just kinda lame in general. Essentially, the same thing will happen, but grammar-corrected, a little less ooc, and slightly condensed.) So, i really do apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. Thank you for understanding. Thank you for your time. ^^ **

**P.S., chapter one was updated as of 5/10/12.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay... i apologize for wasting my (very few) reader's time with that notice, but i felt like i needed to rewrite chapter one at the very least. And I am so, so sorry that I've taken so long to upload. x.x I'll be faster from now on, for what very few readers i might still actually have. xD And I'm gonna be a little more busy with things for the next few weeks, so the chapters might be a little shorter for a while. I promise, I'll get it straightened out soon. Anyways, onto chapter 8. :D Please review!**

* * *

**Sam:**

Sam was walking back down to his (And now Dekka's) houseboat after a little bit of work in the fields, cut short by Edilio just telling Sam to take the day off. He had to admit, Edilio really was always looking out for him. He still needed to repay his friend for that in some way.

After a little contemplation, Sam decided to go to the edge of the lake shore, on the far side of the lake. It was where he always seemed to go to think lately.

He layed down lazily in the grass, looking up at the false sunrise up above. He was wearing just a black sweatshirt and light - blue denim jeans.

He didn't regret what he had done. He needed to do it. Everything Astrid had done had eaten at him for months. Everything that had happened. Everyone needed to stop holding things in at some point... right? He just felt bad that it had caused her to leave Lake Tramonto. I mean sure, it would've been awkward with her here after that, but still...

He snapped out of his thoughts as he felt someone sit down in the grass to his right. Looking over, he saw Dekka, smiling down at him. "Hey. I asked Edilio if i could take the day off to come see you, and he said i could. You don't mind right?"

"Of course not," Sam said, sitting up and returning her small smile, though his was a bit forced. It had been nearly three days since the ordeal with Astrid had happened, but everyone knew he wouldn't just get over it immediately.

"Still upset over everything with Astrid...?" Dekka said, her smile fading a bit. It was pretty obvious she knew his smile was fake.

"Yeah... but i'll be fine."

Dekka wrapped her arms around Sam and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, unable to keep himself from clinging to her, just a little, even if it did make him seem weak. He needed her right now.

She leaned her head up and kissed Sam, trying to comfort him. He kissed her back. The kiss lasted just a minute, before Dekka pulled away from it, snuggling back up to him. "I love you Sam."

"I love you too Dekka," Sam said, feeling at least a little better now. He laid there with her for the next few hours, just cuddling and talking about little things going on around the lake, trying to do anything they could to keep their minds off the events of the past few days.

**Astrid:**

Astrid was lying down on a small white bed in what was once the house she had shared with Mary and Sam, her short blonde hair still slightly matted from the two day trek through mountains and forests it had taken her to get here. The pillowcase her head rested on was stained with tears. She'd never been this torn up before... she couldn't blame Sam for what had happened, she just hadn't expected it. Not at all. She'd always just assumed he'd come crawling back to her... god was she wrong.

God.

That word was absolute in the FAYZ. The FAYZ was hell. There was no god here, unless you counted Petey, an ignorant five year old who potentially had the power to make every living resident of the FAYZ simply vanish. Or maybe the Gaiaphage, who would honestly be something much closer to a devil, considering it just wanted them all dead instead of gone.

Before the FAYZ, hell, before her time in the woods, Astrid had always been a faithful christian girl. She had gone to church every week, sometimes multiple times per week, prayed when she had a chance even in the FAYZ, and had fought desperately to stick to her christian beliefs. Which, in retrospect, probably played a part in why she was lying here, a wreck, in the territory of one of the few people she could honestly say she flat - out hated, feeling heartbroken and destroyed.

"There is no god..." She said to herself. "God abandoned the FAYZ." She whispered, almost silently, into her pillowcase.

**Caine:**

This... was interesting. No... this was hilarious. Even ironic. Diana had left him, joined the 'Good Guys', and allied herself with Sam. Now, Sam's little princess, Astrid, had come running to him and _his_ town because Sammy dumped her. At first, when she had come to Perdido Beach, Caine had been incredulous. He was wondering what it was Sam wanted, and why he would send Astrid instead of Brianna or someone else. Then he'd heard why she was really here, and felt almost joy at the sound of it.

This breakup... even though technically it had been Sam who dumped her, would have Sam ripped to pieces over it for quite a while. He could use this... but did he want to? Caine frowned. For the first time in a while, he was second guessing himself. Him wanting power over everything is what had made Diana leave... and since then he'd been stuck with a psychopath who could drive people insane with a thought; Penny, a power - hungry businessman who undermined his authority at every chance he got; Albert, an overconfident fisherman who thought he could blackmail Caine by threatening to strike (Which he pretty much could); Quinn, and a moron with a gun who stood outside his office all day acting like he was actually good for something; Turk.

Needless to say, he really, really missed Diana. He wished he'd never left the island.

Maybe he could change... or at least seperate himself from the others so he wouldn't get dragged back into things. That might work. But still...

The knowledge that Sam would be confused and off guard for a while was beyond tempting. Heaving an exasperated sigh, Caine leaned back in the oversized leather chair which had formerly belonged to Perdido Beach's mayor and propped his feet up on the large mahogany desk out in front of him, shutting his eyes and drifting off to sleep. He could contemplate on whether or not he should try to kill his twin brother later, for now, he just wanted a nap.

**Dekka:**

She hated seeing Sam like this. He was so torn up, he seemed so different from the lively boy she'd seen just days before... now he looked like weary, overworked, underappreciated Sam who'd been put through hell once again. She wanted to help him... but she didn't know how. He'd loved her before, and had eventually come to accept that she was probably dead. Then, out of nowhere, she comes back from the woods. No warning, no... anything, except one night's sleep thankfully bought by Edilio.

She was honestly amazed he'd been able to hold on this well. Any other person, this would've torn them apart completely. He didn't seem like that... he just seemed sad. She cuddled up into him and kissed his chest lightly, feeling him clinging to her desperately as they held each other out on the lakeshore. This was all she could do for him right now, she supposed. Just be there. Try to help in any way she can. It was all she could do.

They stayed there for a couple more hours, just talking about anything and everything going on around the lake aside from Astrid. Dekka was glad that in some way at least, she was able to help him take his mind off all this. They sat there in the shade of a few trees out in front of them, watching the artificial sun set across the horizon of the lake, the water shimmering and glimmering slightly as the rays of the sun reflecting off the water's surface. Even though she knew it was all artificial, she couldn't help but think about how beautiful it all was. She smiled, just a little, and looked out at the now almost red - tinted water, then up at Sam, who seemed just as mesmerized by it as she was.

"You know..." Sam started, "Before the FAYZ, these little things, sunsets, stars, we took it all for granted. Wind, light, everything. Now... it seems like a treasure, even if deep down you know it isn't real. The FAYZ changed everything, sometimes for the worse..." He glanced at a scar across his left forearm, a mark left by Drake's whip, "And sometimes, for the better." He looked down at Dekka, a smile creeping across his lips. A real smile, not the fake one he had given her earlier.

They sat there in silence for a while longer, watching the sun go down, Dekka feeling happy that she had finally been able to help Sam, and Sam looking like he was finally starting to get over everything with Astrid. Maybe the FAYZ would let them be happy, if only for a little while longer.

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**Please review! :D Whether ya liked it or not. xD Constructive criticism is always welcomed.**


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